January 4th

Jordan’s King’s Academy opened in 2007 with goals of helping students from many nations and different religious backgrounds learn not what to think but how to think.
Patterned after Deerfield Academy in Massachusetts, King Abdullah’s alma mater, King’s looks much like a New England prep school. Think Dead Poets Society or The Emperor’s Club, coed and transplanted to a desert oasis.
Students wear preppie blue blazers, ties and khaki trousers. Many live in dormitories, with faculty house parents. They have service responsibilities in the dining hall and community.

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The Ruston market has a history of remaining healthy, said Warren Post, vice president of mortgage loans for the Bank of Ruston.
“We’re in a unique situation in that our community generally doesn’t reflect what goes on nationally,” he said. “We’re very fortunate in that. For the past 25 years I’ve been here, that’s always been case. I feel like the Ruston area is going to continue to be better than anything we’ll see nationally.”

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January 3rd

“The best basketball is ahead of us. We have to be ready for it and we have to come together as a team and play with the attitude that we can be in (the WAC race) as much as anybody.”
The Bulldogs exhibited that type of attitude in the win over McNeese. There was an intense consistency and aggressive style of play from start to finish, plus a confident demeanor that was particularly present in the underclassmen that contributed to the win.
Dwight Lathan, a first-year guard from West Monroe, led the way with 19 points and sophomore guard Kyle Gibson had 18 points.

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For many small towns in rural north Louisiana, their history makes up for what they lack in commercial development. Cultural and historical tourism, by both local residents and out-of-town visitors, can be a viable contribution to the economy in these areas, if we encourage it.
The towns along La. 151 in particular, including Dubach and Arcadia, are working to capitalize on their unique stories. This photo exhibit is one part of an overall plan to stimulate tourism along the rural highway, with the hope of earning a Scenic Byway designation for the road.

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I by no means claim to be an expert, but from talking to others and evaluating my own experiences with achieving goals, I’ve compiled the following suggestions regarding resolutions:
• Set goals that are specific. Instead of just resolving to be nicer to people, think about what actions could be taken to reflect this change of heart. It could be something as simple as smiling politely every time Uncle Joe talks with food in his mouth or volunteering once a week to work with youth or the elderly.

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Since the state has required skills for Grade Level Expectations all students must learn, teachers’ lessons were pretty much in order before they left for Christmas break.
In Lisa Coleman’s kindergarten class, the students are reviewing reading and letters.
“We’re just getting back in a routine this week,” Coleman said.
Such is the case with other classes.
“They’ve been staying up and sleeping late,” fourth-grade teacher Pam Owen said. “It will take us the three days this week to get back in the groove.”

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January 2nd

Tech jumped out to an early 8-0 lead before McNeese State used a run to cut the advantage down to 12-11 on a pair of free throws by Cowgirl Shante Perry with 13:38 to play.
Shanavia Dowdell then scored six of her game-high 14 points in a 13-0 Tech run giving the Lady Techsters a 25-11 lead with 6:13 to play.
Tech upped the advantage to as many as 17 (30-13) in the first half before McNeese State used a closing run to enter the halftime locker room trailing only 37-26.

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Every day in the United States, approximately 39,000 units of blood are required in hospitals and emergency treatment facilities for patients with cancer and other diseases, for organ transplant recipients and to help save the lives of accident victims.
God forbid one of us is in an accident and needs a life-saving blood transfusion when the supply is low. It could be the difference between life and death.

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For those of you who aren’t physicians or nurses, or who have never known the joy of a cyst like this, let me tell you about it. It’s a sack of fluid that has formed and hardened on my wrist. Likely from a lot of overuse, the joint doctor tells me. My mother had a ganglion, luckily on the back of her hand. The surgery was simple and relatively painless, she said.
Coincidentally, the joint doctor is the same one who works on Louisiana Tech’s football team, putting Humpty Dumpty back together again many times in a season. That should give me some sense of calm, right? It doesn’t.

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According to data from Action on Smoking and Health, a non-profit antismoking organization, smoking is linked to middle ear infections, delayed healing time, faster bone loss and back pain.
Additionally, smoking might worsen diseases of the eyes.

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